Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, has stated that she has not heard President Bola Tinubu complain about the challenges he inherited upon assuming office.
Mohammed made the remarks at an awards dinner hosted at Nigeria House, New York, to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary, including the Independence Day Parade and Carnival.
Mohammed described Tinubu as a leader who “fought hard to get to that seat” and emphasised that, despite inheriting significant national challenges, the President has not expressed grievances over them.
“People around him complain about what he inherited, but he doesn’t,” she said.
She also attributed Tinubu’s leadership to divine providence, saying, “It is God that put him on that seat. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to get behind him and do the best we can for Nigeria. Except you’re trying to tell me that God made a mistake.”
Speaking on Nigeria’s future, Mohammed congratulated the nation on reaching 65 years of independence and called on Nigerians, both within the country and in the diaspora, to actively contribute to nation-building.
“We are a work in progress and we are 65 years old as a country. However, unless you are part of building a nation, no one else is going to do it for you,” she said.
Mohammed cautioned against a culture of negativity, urging Nigerians to avoid what she described as the “pull-down syndrome.”
“If we get into the pull-down syndrome, then who else is going to pull us up? What else are we telling our children? What else are we telling people that we want as our partners? If we are the first people to say that we’re no good, we’re not good enough, and I hope that we just stop doing that,” she added.
